Biographies of Windsor County Vermont
History of Windsor County Vermont
Lewis Cass Aldrich published in 1891
WALKER, Hon. WILLIAM HARRIS , of Vermont, was born in Windham, Vt.. February 2, 1832, and is the second son of Ephraim and Lydia (Harris) Walker. His mother was a sister of the late Judge William Harris, for whom our subject was named. After attending the Leland Academy of Townshend, Vt,, for one term, he entered Black River Academy in 1852, where he remained one year. His classical education was attained at Middlebury College, from which he graduated with full honors, and has been one of its trustees for many years. He then accepted the position of principal of the Little Falls Academy at Little Falls, N. Y., being engaged there two years. While filling the above position his leisure hours were employed in studying law in the office of Judge Arphaxed Loomis, a prominent attorney of Little Falls. Judge Walker came to Ludlow in the fall of 1860 and completed his studies with Hon. F. C. Robbins, and became a member of the Windsor County Bar in the fall of 1861. The practice of his profession was commenced in Ludlow the year he was admitted, and has been continued to the present time. Judge Walker has not only been called by his townsmen but by the citizens of his native State to fill various positions of political and judicial trust. He was Assistant Secretary of the Senate in 1857, member of the Vermont House of Representatives of 1865-66 and 1S84, member of the State Senate from Windsor county in 1867-68. State's Attorney in 1874-76, Supervisor of the Insane 1878-80, Probate judge of Windsor District from 1878 to 1884, and in the latter year was elected by the Legislature a member of the Supreme Bench, which position he was obliged to resign in 1887 on account of ill-health. Judge Walker married Ann Eliza, daughter of Dr. Ardain G. Taylor, of Ludlow, and has one child, Frank A. Walker, Frank A., was born in Londonderry, Vt, March 7, i860. He took an academic course at Black River Academy ; graduated from Middlebury College in 1882. He studied law with his father and Martin H. Goddard, became a member of the Windsor County Bar in 1886, and resides and practices law at Ludlow, Vt. He married Miss Jennie A. Leland, and has one child, Carmen. Biographie Index
WARDNER, ALLEN , son of Frederick and Rebecca (Waldo) Wardner, was born at Alstead, N. H., the 13th of December, 1786. He died at Windsor, Vt., the 29th of August, 1877. When he was about twelve years of age his father moved with his family from Alstead to Reading, Vt., to the farm located on what has since been known as "Wardner Hill." Young Allen did not remain on the farm many months, but soon left home for Windsor, then an important trading-center, to enter business in the employ of Dr. Green. He served Dr. Green for a number of years, until longing for a more ambitious career, he determined to apply for a cadetship at West Point. He accordingly started for Washington. This trip at that time was no ordinary undertaking, especially for a lad who was unused to traveling. His was a long and toilsome journey, and disappointing in its result, as, owing to party politics, the friends who had promised to aid him in securing the appointment were unable to do so. Years after, in a delightful letter to one of his daughters, Mr, Wardner narrated his adventures in that arduous expedition. Although he failed in his errand to Washington, he later obtained admission to the academy through the influence of one of the professors. He remained at West Point but a year. His old friend, Dr. Green, had found him a most valuable assistant, and was so anxious for him to return to Windsor, and offered him such a good position, that, after much hesitation, he resigned from the academy, and came to make Windsor his permanent home. Dr. Green soon took him into partnership, and the firm of Green & Wardner become well-known as a prosperous concern. After Dr. Green had became an old man and had retired from business Mr. Wardner took his brother Shubael into the establishment, which then took the name of A. & S. Wardner.
Mr. Wardner was one of the promoters of the old State Bank of Windsor, and of its successor the Ascutney National Bank, an institution which long was an honor to the town. He was a leader in the building of the great mill-dam at the south end of the village, and in organizing the Ascutney Milldam Company. In fact, in all the enterprises of the town which partook of a public nature, he was one of the foremost workers. He continued in active business until shortly after the death of his wife, which occurred in 1841. The loss of his wife was a terrible blow to him, and he never afterwards seemed to have the heart to engage actively in the various pursuits in which he was interested. He left the management of his affairs entirely to his son, the late Henry Wardner, in whom he had unbounded confidence. On retiring to his home he spent the remainder of his life in leisure, devoting much of his time to reading and study. But this last is not true of his old age only, for he was always a great reader from the time he left school. Mr. Wardner was a man of gentlemanly speech and manners. He was very exact in his pronunciation and use of words; he wrote fluently, and the old-fashioned eloquence of his letters to his boys when they were away at boarding-school was truly charming. In his dealings with men he was just and honorable. True, he was very apt to insist in having his own way, and was inclined to be imperious towards those who disagreed with him, but it usually was proven that his way was correct. He commanded the respect of all with whom he was brought in contact as being a man of sound judgment and the strictest integrity. People in Windsor used to say of him and his brothers " as honest as the Wardners." What he lacked in early education he made up by constant study. He became especially proficient in mathematics as applied to surveying and architecture Mr. Wardner was but little in public office. He shrank from politics, and only consented to nominations at the earnest entreaties of his friends. He was in the State Legislature for a number of years, and was on the committee for adopting plans for the State House at Montpelier, and for superintending its erection, in 1837 and was treasurer of Vermont. Allen Wardner and Minerva Bingham were married at Windsor the 13th of November, 1814. Mrs. Wardner, the daughter of Harris and Phebe (Rogers) Bingham, was born at Lempster, N. H., the 27th of January, 1793. She died at Windsor, January 24, 1841. She was a bright, pretty woman, whose sunny disposition and hospitable manner made her home a very attractive place. The children of Allen and Minerva Wardner were George, married Anne E. Greene; Henry, married Caroline Paine Steele; Helen, died young; Helen Minerva, married William Maxwell Evarts; Charles, died young; Charlotte Pettes, married Alexander George Johnson; Edward Allen, unmarried ; Ann Elizabeth, married Thomas Ballard Harrington ; William, died young ; Maria Louisa, died unmarried at the age of twenty-five; Caroline Crane, died young; Martha, married Ebenezer Eastburn Lamson.
Philip Wardner, the ancestor of all the Wardners, was born in Rothensol, a little town of Wurtemberg, in the northern part of the Black Forest. This town is in the jurisdiction of Neuenburg, and is situated near the boundary line between Wurtemberg and Baden. Philip learned the stone-cutter's trade at Neuenberg, receiving from the Guild of Masons at that place a certificate that he was a master-mason. He came to this country in 1752 with his wife, Katharine Eidel, and landed at Boston. He was first engaged in working on King's Chapel, which was completed in 1754. How long he remained in Boston is uncertain, but it is probable that he removed to Natick, Mass., in the course of a year or two, for the names of his family are found on the Natick records early in the fifties. In a deed executed by Philip and his wife in 1765 he is styled as a yeoman. His children were Jacob, Frederick, Philip, Margaret, Joseph and Lydia. He moved to Alstead, N. H., about 1770
Philip died at Reading, Vt, at the home of his son Frederick, the 12th of May, 1819, aged ninety-two years and eleven months. Katharine, his wife, died at Alstead, but the date of her death is unknown. Frederick Wardner, son of Philip and Katharine (Eidel) Wardner, was born at Natick, Mass., 1st of April, 1754. He died at Reading, Vt., 17th of December, 1825. He went with his father from Natick to Alstead, and became a farmer. He married at Alstead, 20th of February, 1777, Rebecca, daughter of Shubael and Abigail (Allen) Waldo. About 1776 he purchased a large farm in Reading, Vt., whither he shortly moved with his wife and children. Of his six sons five lived to manhood, and each had a worthy career. The names of his children are as follows: Joseph, Abigail, Polly, Calvin, Luther, Allen, Shubael and James. Joseph, the oldest son, died at Alstead, aged about twenty. The other sons, with the exception of James, settled in Windsor or Reading. James became a practicing physician at Plainfield, N. H,
The name of Wardner is decidedly modern. The real name of the ancestors of the Wardners was Weidner. The change in the spelling was the result of an agreement entered into by all the members of the family at Alstead about 1795. Philip Weidner came from a part of Germany where the people speak a peculiar dialect, and it is not remarkable that the Americans found it impossible to spell the name correctly. On the Natick records he is generally called Philip Woydner, while at Alstead the spelling is Wordner, Wardiner, or Wardner, as suited the fancy of the writer. In adopting Wardner as the correct form the family endeavored to spell the name as nearly as possible in the way that Philip pronounced it. Biographie Index
WARDNER, CLARK , was born in Reading, Vt, November 4. 1823. Philip, his great-grandfather, emigrated from Rothensol, Germany, in 1750, subsequently came to Reading, and lived with his son Frederick until his death in May, 1819, aged ninety-two years and eleven months. He was a mason by trade Frederick Wardner, his grandfather, son of Philip, from Alstead, N. H., moved to Reading in 1796 and located on Wardner Hill. He married Rebecca Waldo and had children as follows: Allen, Calvin, Luther, Shubael, Polly, Abigail, Joseph and James. Frederick died in Reading December 17, 1825, aged seveny-two years and eight months. Of his children, Joseph died when about twenty-one years of age. Polly married Charles Leavens, a farmer of Reading, and Charles Leavens, a farmer living at Albert Lea, Wis., is her only child living. Abigail married Ira Hatch, a farmer of Mendon, Vt. Allen was a prominent man of Windsor, Vt., and father of Mrs. Evarts, wife of Hon. William M. Evarts of New York. Luther married Chloe Leavens, was a farmer and resided in West Windsor, Vt. Shubael, merchant, resided in Windsor. James was a physician and practiced his profession in Windsor, and Plainfield, N. H.
Calvin Wardner, born August 26, 1782, resided on the old farm home in Reading, built the large farm house and capacious barns now standing, served in positions of trust and responsibility, as selectman, lister, etc. He possessed much decision of character, quick perceptive powers and was tenacious of his opinions. He was held in high esteem, and was often resorted to for advise and aid. In politics a Whig, and in religious belief a Universalist. He married, first, January 15, 1818, Sarah Fay, born in October 1797; she died January 7, 1822. He married, second, November 7, 1822, Rebecca Clark, born March 22, 1789, died July 7, 1830. He died at the old homestead February 20, 1858. The only children now living by the first marriage are Ann, born January 29, 1819, wife of Hosea Benjamin; Sarah L., wife of George Hawkins of Chicago, 111., who has one child, Ray; and Calvin W., married Luella Merrill, and has one child, George, living in Denver, Colorado. Their other child was Betsey, born November 22, 1820, who was the wife of Loren W. Lawrence, and Henry a lawyer living in Sherbrook Province of Quebec is her only child living. The children by the second marriage were Clark; Sarah, born January 20, 1825, the wife of Henry L. Story, a farmer living in Windsor; Catharine, born July 30, 1826, the widow of Daniel Benjamin, and resides with her sister, Mrs. Story ; Frederick, born December 18, 1827, lives upon and carries on the homestead farm in Reading, and who married Mary A Russell, and has one child Clark Alton, who married Ida Fletcher and has two children : Philip Waldo and Frederick Alton.
Clark Wardner lived on the homestead farm until 1866, becoming its owner by purchase from his father, and carried it on until that time. He has carried on the trade of stone mason for many years in Reading and many of the surrounding towns. In 1866 he sold the farm and purchased a residence in the village of Felchville, where he has since resided. Republican in politics, he has served the town in the positions of lister, selectman and justice of the peace. He is a member of the Universalist Church of Reading. He married, first, December 23, 1851, Lydia P. Heald of Cavendish. Ella R., born May 22, 1854. died November 1, 1875, and Calvin, who died in infancy, were the children by this union. His first wife died October 15, 1861. He married, second, January 7, 1864, Mrs. Sarah E. Breck, widow of Joseph B. Breck and daughter of David and Susannah (Thayer) Brown. She was born November 17, 1826, in Springfield, Vt. She had one child by the former marriage, Willie D., born November 10, 1851, died March 13, 1864. Biographie Index
WARDNER, GEORGE , was born in Windsor, Vt, August 14, 1815, the eldest in a family of twelve children of Allen and Minerva (Bingham) Wardner. He received his early education at the academy in Randolph, Vt., and at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H., 1831-33. He soon after entered the University of Vermont, studied law with Giles F. Yates of Schenectady, N. Y., the late Jonathan H. Hubbard in Windsor, Vt., and Ketchum & Fessenden, New York city, and was graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1839. After practicing law for a few years in New York city, he returned to Windsor and engaged in the mercantile business from 1846 to 1851. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1852. In 1861 he traveled in Europe on business and pleasure combined, and again in 1863 and '64. After his return he resided in Boston several years, but during the later years of his life made his home in Windsor. He married, September 28, 1879, Ann Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Dr. George B. and Mary Hatch (Jones) Green, who was born in Windsor, Vt., August 28, 1830, and now resides at the old Green homestead, which her husband purchased in 1882. After a lingering illness of eighteen months, which he bore with great patience and fortitude, he died at his residence in Windsor, August 28, 1885, in the hope of a blessed immortality, and was buried in his wife's family lot in the old South Church cemetery. He had a brilliant intellect and cultivated mind, a remarkable memory, was fluent and entertaining in conversation, kind-hearted, generous and exceedingly sensitive, a good son, brother and husband, and a true friend. Biographie Index
WARNER, HIRAM LINDSAY , was born in Mount Holly, Vt., July 4, 1825, and is the youngest son of Aaron and Esther (Pierce) Warner, His father was a farmer, and our subject only had the benefit of a common school education. Before he became of age he purchased a mountain covered with timber in his native town, and from that time till 1864 he was engaged in lumbering and farming. In the latter year he enlisted in Company I, Second Vermont Regiment, and served till the close of the war. He then returned to his native town, and in the spring of 1866 came to Ludlow and was employed by Lawson Dawley, at that time proprietor of the Ludlow House. He was in Mr. Dawley's employ seven or eight months, and in 1867 he purchased a hotel at East Wallingford, Vt, which he carried on about nine years. Mr. Warner then spent some months traveling in the West, but returned to Athol, Mass., and in December, 1876, rented the Batchelder House at North Brook field, Mass., which he ran for five years. He then went West again, remaining a short time, and returned to Winsted, Conn., and carried on the Beardsley House for about six months. In 1882 he bought the Ludlow House, and successfully ran the same for five years, when he rented the property, and built a residence two miles from Ludlow village, and engaged in farming. Mr. Warner was a Republican in politics till 1884, in which year he voted for Grover Cleveland for President, and has since affiliated with the Democrats. He was the first Democratic member of the Vermont House of Representatives ever elected from Ludlow, representing the town in 1890. He is one of the present selectmen of the town, and was a member of the Board of 1889 Mr. Warner married. May, 1849, Drusilla, daughter of Ethan and Hannah (Dawley) Priest. She was born in Mount Holly, June 27, 1830. They have two children: Ina L., born in Mount Holly, August 5, 1853, is the widow of Eugene Dickerman, and has one child, Lindsay M., born in East Wallingford, April 26, 1884 ; Irwin, born in Mount Holly, December 7, 1856, married Mattie Holt, and has two children : William L., born in North Brookfield, Mass., October 5, 1879, and Arthur E., born in Mount Holly, July 23, 1881. Biographie Index
WASHBURN, Hon. PETER THACHER , was born in Lynn, Mass., September 7, 1814, and in 1817 his father's family moved to Cavendish. After attending the district school he became a student in the Black River Academy and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1835.
Immediately after his graduation he commenced the study of law with his father, where he remained excepting some three months, when he was in the office of Hon. William Upham, an eminent lawyer of Montpelier, until admitted to the Windsor County Bar in the December term of 1838. In January of the following year he began the practice of his profession at Ludlow. In 1844 he moved to Woodstock and entered into partnership with Charles P. Marsh, and the law firm of Washburn & Marsh became one of the most widely known in the State. This partnership continued until his death, February 7, 1870. General Washburn, by which title he was better known throughout Vermont, held many political offices. He was from October, 1844, to October, 1851, inclusive, reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court, and represented Woodstock in the Legislature of 1853-54. On the breaking out of the war he went to the front as captain of the Woodstock Light Infantry, was subsequently lieutenant-colonel, and at the close of his services was colonel of his regiment. He fully intended to continue in the service, but on account of his health it was thought by him and his friends that he could do better service in the place to which he was appointed soon after his return to Vermont In October, 1861, he was appointed adjutant and inspector-general of Vermont, which position he filled until the close of the war. The character of his work as adjutant and inspector-general was exceptional in its extent and thoroughness, and his reports were models of their kind. At the State election held in September, 1869, General Washburn was chosen governor of Vermont and was in office at the time of his death ; he was also at this time trustee of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, and president of the Woodstock Railroad. He always took an active interest in the political and educational interests of the State. Governor Washburn was twice married, his first wife being Miss Almira Ferris, of Swanton, Vt. By this marriage there were two children, viz : Ferris Thacher. died at the age of eighteen, while a student of Dartmouth College ; Emily May, died at the age of six years. His second wife was Miss Almira Hopkins, of Glens Falls, N. Y. Of their family of four children, three are living, viz.: Elizabeth Almira, wife of Prof T. W. D. Worthen, of Dartmouth College ; Mary Hannah, wife of George B. Parkinson, an attorney of Cincinnati, O.; Charles Hopkins, engaged in the railroad business at St. Paul, Minn. Biographie Index
WASHBURN, Hon. REUBEN . The English ancestor of the Washburn family in this country was John Washburn, who was secretary of the Massachusetts Company in 1628 in England, came from Eversham, England, as early as 1632, and was a resident of Duxbury, Mass. The line of descent from the original settler to Judge Washburn, who was of the sixth generation, was as follows: John had a son John, who had a son Joseph. The latter also had a son Joseph, whose son Seth, was born in Bridgewater, Mass., May 19, 1723, and was the father of Asa, who was born in Leicester, Mass., July 25, 1757, and was the father of Judge Washburn. Hon. Reuben Washburn was born in Leicester, Mass., December 30, 1781, and at the age of four years his father removed to Putney, Vt., where until he reached the age of twenty years he aided in subduing the roughness of a farm in a new country. He afterwards fitted himself for and supported himself through college, graduating at Dartmouth College in 1808, being one of the first scholars of his class. For several years after finishing his education he was engaged as a teacher in several of the principal institutions in New England, and was at one time connected with Exeter Academy with Professor Ebenezer Adams, afterwards of Dartmouth College. Judge Washburn commenced the study of law under the able instruction of Judge Jackson of Boston, and became a member of the Suffolk County Bar. The practice of his profession was commenced at Lynn, Mass., but in 1817 he removed with his family to Chester, Vt.; remaining there but a short time, he came to Cavendish, Vt., and was a resident of the latter place until 1825, when he removed to Ludlow, and three years afterwards built the old homestead that still stands in the village. From the time of his locating in Ludlow till his death, April 23, 1860. Judge Washburn continued to practice his profession, taking an important part in all matters pertaining to the political and religious interests of the town. He was an accomplished lawyer in the broadest sense. He was long regarded as the best read lawyer in the State, and as holding the first place in the law relating to real estate. Thoroughly grounded in the principles of the English Common Law, his conclusions were easily arrived at and were held in high esteem by the courts of the State. His mind was of a strong, analytical cast, and his briefs clear and concise, while in the branch of special pleading, then the practice of the courts, he had no superior in the State. He was tall and commanding in his person, gentle and affable in his manners, of sterling integrity, and in all respects a fine example of the educated Christian gentleman of the golden age of New England history. Judge Washburn was united in marriage October l0, 1813, to Miss Hannah Blaney Thatcher, a daughter of Rev. Thomas C. Thatcher, of Lynn, Mass. The issue of this marriage was Peter Thatcher; Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Daniel A. Heald, president of the Home Insurance Company of New York ; Reuben Hubbard, member of the Windsor County Bar, who died at Hartford, Conn. ; Hannah M., now residing at the old homestead; and John Seth, who died in New York city, where he had for twenty-three years practiced law. Biographie Index
WATSON, Hon. EDWIN CHENEY , was born in Worcester, May 26, 1818. He was the oldest of eight children of Oliver and Esther (Brown) Watson. His ancestors first settled in Connecticut, but subsequently moved to Massachusetts, where his father was born at Old Brookfield, October 8, 1785. Oliver Watson came to Montpelier about 1816, and subsequently settled in Worcester, of which town he was one of the pioneers. He soon after married Esther, daughter of Amasa and Sibyl (Stoddard) Brown - who was born in Medway, Mass., March 11, 1794-May 29, 1817, which marriage was the first one in town. Their children, besides the subject of this sketch, all of whom were born in Worcester, were Sibyl E., born April 21, 1820, who married Nelson H. Caswell, July 4, 1843, and resides at Chelsea; Caroline B., born November 26, 1822, who married Alvin Colby, March 27, 1842, and Joseph A. Hadley June 26, 1876, and died at St. Johnsbury, September 13, 1889; Amasa B., born February 27, 1826, who married Martha Brooks, of Muskegon, Mich , October 7, 1856, served in the Union Army and was mustered out as major, and died at Grand Rapids, Mich., of which city he was at one time mayor, September 18. 1888; Oliver L., born May i, 1828, who married Nancy C. Darling, of Worcester, August 19, 1852, and Delia A. Peake, of Orange, October 18, 1880, and is a retired physician residing at Montpelier; Lucinda L., who was born September 4, 1830, and died March 29, 1852; Olive O., born November 27, 1832, who married James Rice, since Secretary of State in Colorado, November 13, 1854, and died August 29, 1860; and Algernon Sidney, who was born February 6, 1838, and died July 9, 1880.
But meager educational advantages were afforded the youth of his native town in those days, and Edwin C. obtained only a limited common school education, but a correct training supplementing a good native ability made him a successful man of business and public affairs. At the age of eighteen years he went to Leominster, Mass., to work, but his uncle, Hon. Milton Brown, of Worcester, having been elected by the Legislature superintendent of the Vermont State Prison, in 1837, he came to Windsor and served as a guard, and subsequently as warden or keeper, during the four years of Mr. Brown's incumbency as superintendent. In Mr. Brown's family at Windsor he met Miss Sophia, daughter of Captain Seth and Anna (Chase) Johnson, of Cornish, N. H., whom he subsequently married, January 1, 1844. They settled in Worcester and Mr. Watson engaged in farming at first, but later in the milling and tanning business. Eight children were born to them, as follows: Charles A., born October 3, 1844, married Emma J. Hathaway of Calais. He served in the Union army in Company C, Thirteenth Regiment, and Company E, Seventeenth Regiment Vermont Volunteers, and was mustered out of the service as second lieutenant, and is now engaged in the carriage and granite business at Woodbury; Emily F. was born January 16, 1847, and died August 29, 1861 ; Henry A., born June 21, 1849, graduated from the Bryant & .Stratton Business College, Boston, and from the medical department of the University of Vermont in 1874, he practiced his profession at Rindge and Henniker, N. H., and White River Junction, Vt., married Clara A. Teele, of Winchendon, Mass., and died January 4, 1888; Lucinda S., born March 5, 1852, married Frank W. Cameron, of Hartford, and died April 12, 1888; George A. was born August 27, 1854, and died August 11, 1856; Alfred E., born August 6, 1857, was educated at Kimball Union and St, Johnsbury Academies in the class of 1879, and at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1883, and while in college was managing editor and business manager of The Dartmouth, was secretary of civil and military affairs of Vermont for the biennial term 1884-86, and in the latter year, when the new Board of Railroad Commissioners was constituted, was appointed its clerk, which position he still holds, was assistant town clerk of Hartford in 1884 and 1885, and Director of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance Company for Windsor county, 1886-90, is a member of the school board at Hartford where he resides, is the accredited representative of the New England Associated Press for this section of the State, correspondent of the Boston Globe, and has recently been elected treasurer of the White River Savings Bank at White River Junction, and married Mary Maud Carr, of New York city, granddaughter of John Anderson the tobacconist, July 3, 1883 ; Olive R., born August 20, i860, was educated at St. Johnsbury Academy and at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, and resides with her brother, Alfred E., at Hartford ; Eddie Ellsworth, born January 10, 1863, died May 16, 1863.
In 1859 and 1860, Edwin C. Watson was elected Assistant Judge of Washington County court, and in 1861 and 1862 represented the town of Worcester in the General Assembly, being the first one born in town to re-present it in the Legislature. He entered the employ of Van Ornum, Braley & Co., latterly known as French, Watson & Co., of Hartford, Vt, manufacturers of agricultural implements, in 1861, and at the time of his death was the senior member of the firm, owning a half interest. He married for his second wife, November 24, 1864, Mrs. Mary L. Hay ward, daughter of Horace H. and Sally (Kemp) Collier, of Worcester, by whom he had three children, viz.: Edwin E., who was born October 10, 1867, and died February 27, 1868; George H., who was born December 12, 1869, was educated at Burlington Business College, and resides with his mother at Montpelier; Lettie A., who was born May 13, 1873, and died August 18, 1873.
In March, 1867, Judge Watson moved his family to Hartford, where he resided until his death of cancer of the stomach, after an illness of about a year, December 20, 1885. While living in Hartford he held all of the more important town offices which he would accept, and represented the town in the General Assembly in 1874. At the time of his death he was prominently mentioned for State Senator from Windsor county in 1886. He was also director of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance Company for Windsor county several years. Judge Watson, politically, was a Whig, and later a stalwart Republican, and his religious preference was Methodist. Biographie Index
WESTON, HORACE , was born in Rockingham, Vt. December 27, 1802. He was the second in a family of eight children of Joseph and Lucinda Weston. Joseph was born March 31, 1774, and married Lucinda Mather, February 5, 1801 ; the latter was born November 17, 1780. Joseph died January 14, 1838. The brothers and sisters of Horace were Lewis, born October 14, 1801, married Sophia White, January 23, 1834, died in Springfield, Vt.; Horace; Jehial, born July 31, 1804, married Almira Bates, January 23, 1834, died in Springfield ; Randilla, born June 14, 1806, is the widow of Aaron Leland Thompson, and lives in Bellows Falls, Vt.; James, born January 24, 1808, married Mary A. Murray, November 12, 1835, died in Weathersfield, Vt.; Lucinda, born November 16, 1809, was the wife of William Dana, died in Charlestown, N. H.; Joseph, born October 1, 1813, married Marianna Savage, April 10, 1838, died in Weathersfield ; Reuben, born December 16, 1816, married April 2, 1839, Mary Jane Barrett, died in Windsor. James Weston and all his sons were farmers. Horace received only a common school education. From the time he was old enough, and up to the time of his majority, he worked out, his wages going to the support of the family. When twenty-one years of age he hired out to John Davis, afterwards his father-in-law, for $150 per year, a large sum for those days. He worked for him until the time of his marriage. He married May 1, 1827, Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Herrick) Davis. She was born November 16, 1804. After his marriage he bought on credit the " Asa Locke farm " in Rockingham, Vt., and stocked it with the money saved while in Mr. Davis's employ. In 1834 he sold this farm, and purchased the farm of 150 acres in Springfield, known as " Parker's Place," on Parker Hill, south part of Springfield. Here he lived nineteen years, during which time he had paid for the farm, also another farm adjoining of 150 acres. In 1853 he sold out, and purchased in Windsor the property known as the " old Engolsal" farm consisting of 500 acres. The price paid was $15,000, all of which, except $3,000, he paid down. He carried on this farm up to the time of his death, which occurred May 20, 1871. The question often raised whether farming in Vermont pays, the above facts in the life of one of its successful farmers would seem to answer emphatically in the affirmative. Mr. Weston represented Springfield in the Legislature of Vermont in 1852, and filled the positions of selectman and lister in both Springfield and Windsor. In physique he was large and robust with great power of endurance. His judgment in all business matters was sound. He was fond of reading, and a great home man. He was a member of the Universalist church in Springfield, one of its most active members, and a liberal contributor to its support. His children are. Albert Weston, born in Rockingham, Vt., August 19, 1830, married November 4, 1855, Almira, daughter of John and Anna Allison, of Weathersfield. She was born November 23, 1836. Her father, born in Dublin, N. H., February 26, 1790, married, first, Jerusha Sweet, of Hanover, N. H., born January 1, 1824, died July 23, 1829, and had three children, viz.: Boliver, James Stockwell, and Jerusha. He married, second, Mrs. Anna Mann, nee Porter, of Bradford, February, 1832. She was born December 16, 1800. The five children by this union were Lutetia, John Q., Almira, De Forest, and Cynthia Ann. Only one of the former and all of the latter set of children are living. Her father, Allison, died July 29, 1863 ; her mother died February 20, 1845. Albert and Almira Weston have had one child, John Albert, born December 31, 1856, died August 30, 1870. Upon the death of his father Albert came into joint possession, with his brother Horace, of the home farm in Windsor, and until 1871 carried it on together. He then sold his interest to his brother. In 1885 he purchased the Stoughton mansion in Windsor village, and has resided there ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Weston have spent their last eight winters in the South and California. They are members of the All Souls church at Windsor. Horace Weston, born in Springfield, October 31, 1835, was eighteen years of age when his father moved to Windsor. He received his education in the common schools of Springfield, and fitted for college in the Wesleyan Seminary of that place, but decided not to take a college course. As before stated, he became sole owner of the large home farm in Windsor, and in addition thereto has purchased land in the town of Weathersfield amounting to 700 acres. He is one of the most extensive farmers in the region. He represented Windsor in the Legislature in 1872-73 and was selectman seventeen years, fifteen years in succession, town lister thirteen years, and justice of the peace twenty years. He married December 6, 1859, Sarah C , daughter of George and Susan (Wait) Dake. Mrs. Weston was born December 18, 1838, in Windsor. They have three children living, viz.: George D., born August 9, 1860, a graduate of Dartmouth College, in class of 1884, studied medicine, and received his diploma from the Medical Department of the Philadelphia University, and is now practicing his profession in Fort Payne, Ala.; Fred H., born April 7, 1863, was graduated from Dartmouth in 1885, is now head clerk for Joseph Whitcomb & Co , in Springfield, Mass.; Charles A., born October 19, 1873, a student in the High School at Windsor. Biographie Index
The information on Trails to the Past © Copyright 2024 may be used in personal family history research, with source citation. The pages in entirety may not be duplicated for publication in any fashion without the permission of the owner. Commercial use of any material on this site is not permitted. Please respect the wishes of those who have contributed their time and efforts to make this free site possible.~Thank you!
